211–220 of 447 posts
And I'm not sure why switching map apps will really help long term. Can't Google just bake in WiFi WAR driving into the location services API?
Are you sure they're not doing this to get approximate location for use with A-GPS? Sure, GPS will work without it, but your time to first fix is going to be much longer, and your phone will have no idea where you are while you're waiting for that fix. There's a good overview of A-GPS in module 5 here [1]. This is just how people expect GPS to work on modern mobile phones, to the point where they'd probably consider…
that most definitely is the reason to ask for wifi scanning, but the point was reiterated many times in the post. This is about privacy AND the fact that GPS-only navigation works globally just fine. If the user wishes to have that improved cold start approximate location then sure, turn on wifi scanning. If they do not wish to give that up, they should still be able to navigate
If you have an iPhone and haven't been using Apple Maps, it's basically on par now with Google Maps for navigation. I hadn't tried Apple Maps for years because of how bad it used to be, and was pleasantly surprised to find the maps are incredibly accurate and turn by turn navigation is rock solid. I haven't touched Google Maps in months, and this post is reminding me that it's time to just uninstall it
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21708157
OP's solution of installing another Android maps app is probably the best available option that fits OP's privacy requirements.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Bonus points for bogus names like "Starbucks Wifi" or "McDonalds Free Wifi" in the middle of the highway. I find no joy in saying it, but I bet that would get you some unwelcome attention - trademark infringement, defamation, tortious interference - from one of those companies. :(
>I find no joy in saying it, but I bet that would get you some unwelcome attention - trademark infringement, defamation, tortious interference - from one of those companies. :( While that's a wonderfully dystopian view, I'd expect that wouldn't happen unless you attempted to use such SSIDs in a commercial context. for your "wager" to be successful, I should expect to be sued over saying stuff like "Old McDonald had a…
Do you like making lawyers (on both sides) rich? Or tying up courts so they can't hear cases with more merit? Because even if you win, those are the outcomes. Vexatious litigation is a real thing, and practically impossible to prosecute. It can happen to you. The real world doesn't care about your notions of abstract justice, and it's not dystopian to recognize that. If anything, it's your utopian view that's "wonderful" (i.e. appealing but unrealistic) here.
You can, but if you do, Amazon will no longer send Amazon "Smile" micro-donations to whatever charity you've selected: https://i.imgur.com/wNAkUAT.jpeg .
I can't say that this is underhanded, but it does cast into sharp relief the fact that Amazon is a $1.5 trillion dollar company that generates upwards of $3B in yearly profit, and they're jerking you around, dangling the pennies they would otherwise send to a charity, unless you let them feed you product recommendations in OS notifications. (If you just disallow the entire Amazon app from sending notifications, as far as I can tell they still give the charity whatever 0.5% cut.)
So I have to choose between 1) allowing them to send me product recommendations, 2) a poor UX because I don't get any notifications at all, or 3) just not sending the charity any of the scraps of my Amazon transactions. I chose 3 and cut the charity a larger check than usual.
Refusing service when the user does not consent to non-essential data sharing is illegal in the EU, and it also breaches Google Play's developer agreement. WiFi scanning is not essential to navigate with an app, and the least they could do to follow the law is to gracefully degrade the service if the user does not consent to share data about nearby devices, such as disabling traffic predictions. Of course Google's la…
> non-essential data sharing But it is essential. Google (and Apple) maps provide lane specific navigation directions, which are really only possible with assisted GPS. In theory GPS has the accuracy, but remember you are in a big metal box filled with electrical wires. Not to mention other applications like isle specific navigation within stores, which is made possible by bluetooth beacons. Heck, we are on the verge…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>We had one on our street called FuckOffAndGetYourOwn which I always liked There was an SSID in my building called "Free Palestine." A couple years later, someone created another one called "The Shin Bet."[0] I found that to be both disturbing and amusing. After the Muslim grad students on the third floor moved back to Australia, "Free Palestine" disappeared, and when the orthodox Jews moved out of the fourth floor,…
I don't understand your ironic reference :( What does "GranMal" have to do with that paper about wifi's effect on epileptic rats?
Wifi? Ha! Google Maps has prompted me to turn on my camera for improved location accuracy a couple of times. And I'm not sure why switching map apps will really help long term. Can't Google just bake in WiFi WAR driving into the location services API?
It has nothing to do with some crazy nefarious google plot.
Refusing service when the user does not consent to non-essential data sharing is illegal in the EU, and it also breaches Google Play's developer agreement. WiFi scanning is not essential to navigate with an app, and the least they could do to follow the law is to gracefully degrade the service if the user does not consent to share data about nearby devices, such as disabling traffic predictions. Of course Google's la…
> non-essential data sharing But it is essential. Google (and Apple) maps provide lane specific navigation directions, which are really only possible with assisted GPS. In theory GPS has the accuracy, but remember you are in a big metal box filled with electrical wires. Not to mention other applications like isle specific navigation within stores, which is made possible by bluetooth beacons. Heck, we are on the verge…
During which (brief?) time we will have other pressing concerns beyond degraded mapping services. Why should this temporary condition that on its own is certainly not 'crippling' be an excuse for accepting that Google/Alphabet and like minded corporations want technical approaches that enable them to know everything about us 24/7?
Refusing service when the user does not consent to non-essential data sharing is illegal in the EU, and it also breaches Google Play's developer agreement. WiFi scanning is not essential to navigate with an app, and the least they could do to follow the law is to gracefully degrade the service if the user does not consent to share data about nearby devices, such as disabling traffic predictions. Of course Google's la…
Can't believe I'm on this side of the debate, but at what point are we asking too much for free? Google provide Maps for free to an incredible accuracy and value. Unlike Apple, the user is welcome to use any other app, and yet chooses to use Google Maps. You could maybe argue that Google Maps is part of a package you bought the phone for, but realistically I think the solution is Google are just open about the use of…
iPhones let you install Google Maps, you're not locked in to Apple Maps.
